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6Sth Congress I HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES { 

3d Session j * 



Document 
No. 185j 



CHARLES MARTIN 

( Late a Representative from Illinois ) 

MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 

DELIVERED IN THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OF THE UNITED STATES 

M . SrSTY-FIFTH CONGRESS 



Proceedings in the House 
February 2, 1919 



Proceedings in the Senate 
December 4, 1917 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 
THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING 







I -^1 



WASHINGTON 
1919 



)I>U 7 







BJ 01" i-«. 
JAi* 28 1920 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page. 

Proceedings in the House , 5 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D 6 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. John W. Rainey, of Illinois 9 

Mr. Ezekiel S. Candler, of Mississippi 15 

Mr. Henry T. Rainey, of Illinois 22 

Mr. Thomas Gallagher, of Illinois 25 

Mr. William J. Gary, of Wisconsin 29 

Mr. Adolph J. Sabath, of Illinois 31 

Proceedings in the Senate 33 



[3]. 




HON-CHAHLES MAFLTIN 



DEATH OF HON. CHARLES MARTIN 



Proceedings in the House of Representatives 

Monday, December 3, 1917. 

Mr. Henry T. Rainey. Mr. Speaker, it is with profound 
regi'et that I announce the death of my colleague, the 
Hon Charles Martin, of Illinois. I send to the Clerk's 
desk a resolution and ask for its present consideration, 
after which I shall move that the House adjourn out of 
respect to his memory. At some convenient time in the 
future I shall ask that a day be set apart for the delivery 
of eulogies in this House. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of the Hon. Charles Martin, late a Representative from 
the State of Illinois. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of 
the deceased this House do now adjourn. 

The Speaker. The question is on agreeing to the reso- 
lutions. 

The resolutions were agreed to. 

Thursday, January 16. 1919. 
Mr. John W. Rainey. Mr. Speaker, 1 ask unanimous 
consent that Sunday, February 2, 1919, be set aside for 
memorial services on the life, character, and public serv- 
ices of Hon. Charles Martin, deceased, late a Member of 
this House from the State of Illinois. 



[5] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Martin 

The Speaker. Tlie gentleman from Illinois [Mr. John W. 
Rainey] asks unanimous consent that Sunday, February 
2, 1919, be set aside for memorializing his predecessor, 
the late Representative Marten, of Illinois. Is there objec- 
tion? 

There was no objection. 

Sunday, February 2, 1919. 
The House met at 12 o'clock noon. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered 
the following prayer: 

Eternal God, Author of the Universe, Father of all souls, 
in the midst of the impenetrable mysteries which sur- 
round us, we come with profound faith, eternal hope, that 
in Thy wisdom, power, and goodness we shall be exalted, 
ennobled, glorified, in Thine own good time. 

Let Thy richest blessings descend upon us now as we 
gather here to give expression to the worth of the men 
who were dignified by the people and made Members of 
the Congress of the United States. What they did to 
glorify a Nation of freemen will live and be a blessing to 
future generations. 

Let Thy loving arms be about their dear ones to com- 
fort and sustain them in this hour of trial. Give them a 
vision of the larger life and help them to look forward 
to a reunion with their dear ones in a realm where mys- 
teries shall be dissolved and the brightest hopes realized 
in the dispensation of Thy providence. Through Him 
who died, that we might live. Amen. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the order. 
The Clerk read as follows: 

On motion of Mr. John W. Rainey, by unanimous consent, 
Ordered, That Sunday, February 2, 1919, be set apart for ad- 
dresses on the life, character, and public services of Hon. 
Chables Martin, late a Representative from the State of Illinois. 

[6] 



Proceedings in the House 



Mr. John W. Rainey. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following 
resolutions. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. John 
W. Rainey] offers the following resolutions, which the 
Clerk will report. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, Ttiat the business of the House be now suspended 
that opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. 
Charles Martin, late a Member of this House from the State of 
Illinois. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory 
of the deceased, and in recognition of his distinguished public 
career, the House, at the conclusion of the exercises of tliis day, 
shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to 
the family of the deceased. 

Mr. Henry T. R-viney took the chair as Speaker pro 
tempore. 

Mr. John W. Rainey. Mr. Speaker, many Members from 
Illinois who were anxious to be present and offer tributes 
to the late Congressman Martin are unavoidably absent 
from the city; and I ask unanimous consent that all who 
desire to do so may have leave to revise and extend their 
remarks in the Record. 

The Speaker pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered. 

There was no objection. 



[7] 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. John W. Rainey, of Illinois 

Mr. Speaker: In accordance with a tinie-honored cus- 
tom, we have come together to-day, gentlemen, to com- 
memorate the memory of a Member of the House who, it 
is true, was not known to many of you, but very well 
known to and most kindly remembered by the gentlemen 
of Illinois, especially those from the Chicago congres- 
sional districts. 

On a farm near Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County, 
N. Y., on the 20th day of May, 1857, was born to Ellen and 
Martin Martin a son, named Charles, being the ninth of 
a family of 11 children. In April, 1866, his parents rented 
their farm and moved to Chicago, where Charles lived 
the rest of his life. 

Unfortunately, the health of former Congressman 
Charles Martin, of whose career I am permitted to speak, 
had been failing during the last few years preceding his 
election to Congress, and the strain connected with such a 
campaign sapped what strength was left in his once hardy 
body, so that he succumbed shortly after his inauguration 
in the House as Congressman from the fourth congres- 
sional district of Illinois — the district I now have the 
distinguished honor to represent. 

Congressman Charles Martin, as some of the Members 
know, was a unique figure in the public life of Chicago. 
A man whose situation in early life did not permit the at- 
tainment of vast stores of book knowledge, yet he gained 
great heights in the political affairs of his State and was 



[9] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Martin 

esteemed by all who knew him, and those who did not 
esteem him feared him. He belonged to that old school 
wliich very often falls into disfavor with those groups of 
people who may well be called " the dilettante " in public 
reforms. He was one of that large class of self-made men, 
naturally talented and gifted, who bettered his natural 
abilities by everj' occasion that practical life gave him. 
He was educated in the greatest school of all the world^ — 
the American democracy. 

In the homely language of his constituency Charles 
Martin was a two-fisted man — a man through and 
through. Had he been favored with opportunities for 
college instruction and professional knowledge, he would 
have taken his place beside the great lawyers, physicians, 
scientists, or statesmen of America, because he was a man 
of wonderful natural ability. But the fact that a person 
does not reach that zenith of public glory does not prove 
him less a man. Fame and national regard often come 
to a man not because of his interior, intimate self, but 
because of opportunities and occasions arising by the 
chance of birth or of fortune, for which he is in no way 
responsible; and, generally, such fame comes because of 
accomplishments which come through what I may be per- 
mitted to call forced instruction and education and not 
because of any inherent superiority to one's fellow men. 
Charles Martin's fortitude in overcoming obstacles, his 
courage in adversity, his patience in reverses are matters 
of history in Chicago. He was made of that spirit and 
flesh that but yesterday shed their glory on the soldiers 
of the United States in the battle fields of France and in 
our preparations at home. 

War, like death, might be called the great leveler, and 
under the mailed fist of Mars all must bow alike to the 
primal conditions. Rich and poor, great and small, must 
face the common enemy, undergo the same trials, tribu- 

[10] 



Address of Mr. John W. Rainey, of Illinois 

lations, sufferings, and privations. Whether a man is 
well versed in the arts and sciences, or whether he is il- 
literate and mentally uninstructed, the manly virtues, if 
they are there, will crop out in the face of war; and the 
manly virtues make the reliable soldiers, the kind of men 
that Uncle Sam needs to keep his colors high on the flag- 
pole or hoisted to the topmast. And evei-y Member here 
who knew him will agree with me when I say that 
Charles Martin was a man through and through; a man 
who was not fearful of facing his enemy, nay, who rather 
sought him out; a man whose handclasp made you feel 
the soul behind it and needed not the flattery of words to 
say, " I am your friend." And Charles Martin's friend- 
ship was something to be coveted. 

Therefore, having known him since my very boyhood's 
days; having seen him age from the stalwart leader of the 
fifth ward of Chicago to the mature master in local poli- 
tics; having at one time fought him bitterly in campaigns 
wherein spirit ran high; having witnessed his many acts 
of kindness to his fellow men; having associated with 
him, politically and otherwise, I deem it a pleasure and 
an honor to have this opportunity of writing in the annals 
of this House an expression of esteem, honor, gratitude, 
and respect to my departed predecessor and to the mem- 
ory of my friend. Congressman Charles Martin. 

Having labored faithfully for the public; having given 
pBodigally of his time and money for the betterment of 
his neighbor; having passed a lifetime in the service of 
the people (and one must recall in this respect that he 
hailed from a laboring class and district of people who, 
when unemployed, seek their first aid in the alderman), 
it is only fit, right, and just that his memory should be 
preserved in the chronicles of the Nation, and I rejoice 
that fate spared him until he had achieved a position to 
make this possible. 

[11] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Martin 

We all have ideals; but as -a general principle lofty and 
inspiring ideals and devotion to those ideals generally 
spring from deep thought, exhaustive study, and early 
training. But ideals in themselves serve no purpose to 
humanity unless they become realized through some 
suitable channel. Ideals move the world, it is true; but 
there is in life something more demonstrative of a man's 
worth and love of humanity than the mere espousal of 
lofty thoughts of idealism. Some idealists of the past, as 
revealed in their works, have not lived up to their ideals 
in their own practical lives. Such is the inconsistency 
of life that even some of the foremost thinkers and intel- 
lectual giants of the past lived the life unprintable. The 
man who through his noble actions and good deeds, his 
generosity and charit}% passes along life's road sowing 
seeds of happiness, contentment, and comfort among his 
fellow men, is a man whose existence is more service- 
able and more beneficial to society than the idealistic 
theorist, blatantly proclaiming his ideas of life, and at 
the same time spurning the beggar by the wayside. The 
orator vouching for and insisting upon patriotism from the 
platform is not half as patriotic as the boy in khaki. 
In a word, the doer of goodness is better than the mere 
professor of goodness. 

Applying this test to the man whose memoiy we com- 
memorate, let me say that Charles Martin may have 
been exteriorly rough and gruff, but his heart was plastic 
to the delicate fingers of want and need; his manners 
may not have been over delicate, but neither his words 
nor his acts ever purposely hurt a friend; he fought an 
opponent, politically and financially, unrelentlessly and 
without mercy, but he greeted him alwaj's as a man. 
His idealism in life was the attainment of power, but 
it was the power to do good; his desire was not to secure 
a job or obtain a position, but to so situate himself as 

[12] 



Address of Mr. John W. Rainey, of Illinois 



to be able to distribute jobs, positions, and give assistance 
to others. 

Had I the time, I would with pleasure recite many an 
anecdote exemplifying and describing the sort of soul 
which gave light and life to those steel gray eyes which 
in argumentation cut like the proverbial sword. But time 
in its march has swept him along toward the shores of 
eternity and to-day his friends at home mourn his loss, 
his enemies acknowledge his sterling manly qualities, his 
acts of goodness go on bearing fruit, and I am sure that 
in the great hereafter, if he sees his countiy in its present 
strife, his soul would wish to take a hand in this greatest 
of all fights for liberty, for we must pay him this tribute— 
that he was a 100 per cent American. 

True, like all those of the old school, he disfavored any 
attempt at changing the present order of things and condi- 
tions; ti-ue, the first outcrop of woman suffrage did not 
appeal to him, but in due time, having become convinced 
of the betterment of mankind derivable from such innova- 
tions, he gladly embraced them. Whenever the American 
people and American life were to be bettered he never 
was recalcitrant. 

In conclusion let me say that I believe we should keep 
in mind the old adage, " If we had no defects ourselves we 
should not take so much pleasure in observing the failings 
of others." I have observed that there is sufficient good 
in any one of us to speak about, and I believe that we 
should tr>' to avoid calling attention to whatever may be 
objectionable or reproachable in one's fellow man unless 
we have a duty to perform in this respect. I am saying 
this not because there is anything in the life of Congress- 
man Charles Martin to be hidden but because he was 
the victim of base calumny. Eveiyone here knows and 
realizes that our political contests sometimes go too far, 
and opponents flay and excoriate each other in ways that 

[13] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Martin 

oftentimes leave wounds never to be healed. So it was 
with Charles Martin — his political enemies spared him 
in no way. His name, life, family, and reputation were 
all the objects of attack; the press abused him and ridi- 
culed him. But on occasions of this kind we all say, be- 
lieve, and know that a man's political opponents do not 
present a fair estimate of liis character and real worth as 
a man. And, indeed, such was the case with our friend, 
and the words of Pope can very well be applied in refer- 
ence to many an aspersion on Charles Martin's character. 

Envy will virtue like a shadow pursue 
But only to prove the substance true. 

We all know he was devoted to his home and to its 
duties and to its privileges. His wife, who survives him, 
was Nellie McCarthy, of Chicago, whom he married in 
1877. His loved ones who mourn his death have full right 
and reason to be proud of his career and of his name. 
His funeral was attended by men from all over our State 
of Illinois. We were all sincere mourners at his grave. 
His memory will live with those who knew him as an 
honorable, true, and brave man, who loved his country, 
his family, and his fellow men. 

And as I scan over his life from childhood to mature 
age, his public, social, and private life, as I knew him as 
he truly was, what his personal qualities were, and liis 
personal abilities realized, there comes to my mind a sug- 
gestion which embodies the secret of this man's race in 
life: 

He was a man who tried to make the best of himself; who 
served his country, his fellow man, and God; bold, free, and reso- 
lute in spirit; self-made in the best meaning of that much-abused 
expression; generous, open-hearted, and ready to make any 
sacrifices for his friends. 



[14] 



Address of Mr. Candler, of Mississippi 

Mr. Speaker: I did not have the pleasure of extended 
personal acquaintance with Congressman Charles Mar- 
tin which was enjoyed by my distinguished friend who 
has just preceded me and that was enjoyed by some 
other Members of the House who will deliver addresses 
upon this occasion. 

As has been stated by his colleague and my friend, Hon. 
John W. Rainey, Mr. JMartin was born upon a farm. He 
was raised amid surroundings which contributed to the 
development of the sterling qualities of American man- 
hood. He was fortunate in beginning life among the 
beauties of nature, where he was brought in close contact 
with those things which bring to mind not only present 
surroundings but possibilities for the future and con- 
tribute to the development of those characteristics which 
through all the years to come serve to inspire in us the 
best for humanity and cause us in our lives to glorify 
God. 

Leaving these surroundings when but a boy, his father 
carried him with other members of his family to the great 
city of the West, Chicago, where he finished what educa- 
tion he was permitted to obtain and entered upon the 
realities of life in the hustling, bustling metropolis, which 
gave him an opportunity to show those sterling qualities 
which had been imbued in his nature from the earliest 
moments of his life up to that good hour. 

Evidently the people of Chicago realized these qualities 
in this good man and took cognizance of the ability which 
he possessed and the qualifications which they might use 
for their welfare and for the development of the interests 
of that great community and for the benefit of the people 

[15] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Martin 

who lived there. Therefore they called him to puhlic 
service comparatively early in his life, and he enjoyed 
their confidence and their esteem, as was evidenced hy 
the fact that they continued him in one position or an- 
other practically all through his life, finally elevating him 
to a seat in the Congress of the United States of America. 

Unfortunately, at the time he was elected to the Con- 
gress his health was impaired, and while he performed 
as best he could during the remaining days of his life, 
subsequent to Ins election, the duties that devolved upon 
him, and came to the city of Washington at the organiza- 
tion of Congress to participate in the organization by cast- 
ing his vote along with the other members of his party in 
seeing that the organization was maintained in the House 
which in his judgment he believed would be for the wel- 
fare of the country, yet because of failure of health he 
had to return soon to his home, and did not have the op- 
portunity to come back to Washington subsequent to that 
time. 

In the organization of the House he was assigned to the 
great Committee on Agriculture, of which I have the 
honor myself to be a member. This was a fit recognition 
of his qualifications and of the ability which he had 
exhibited in the past. In his services on that committee 
as well as in the House, if his health had permitted, he 
would have been a power in the accomplishment of great 
good, I am sure, in securing legislation along lines which 
would have been for the welfare not only of the people 
of his own district but of his great city and State and 
also of this marvelous Republic. 

He served in the city of Chicago for 16 years in the city 
council, being elected to his first term in 1894. He was a 
member of the executive committee of the county central 
committee for 6 years. He served as ward committee- 
man from the fifth ward for 12 years. His selection to 

[16] 



Address of Mr. Candler, of Mississippi 

these positions in which his people showed him recogni- 
tion demonstrated the fact that they had absolute and un- 
bounded confidence in him, and as he met in full measure 
the requirements of each position to which he was called 
they elevated and promoted him from time to time until, 
as I said, at last, just prior to his death, in recognition of 
the great services which he had rendered, they elected 
him to membership in the House of Representatives of 
the United States. 

These facts demonstrate that he was a man of strong 
character and determination; that when he took a posi- 
tion and made up his mind with reference to any ques- 
tion, either local or in a larger field, he stood for it with 
that unfailing determination tliat marked him, in deed 
and in truth, as has been stated by the Hon. John W. 
Rainey in the address he has delivered, as a man through 
and through, upon whom you could depend, not only 
when the sun was shining but when the lightnings flashed 
and the thunders rolled and the darkness came. He stood 
like a beacon light for the principles he loved and which 
in his heart he believed were for the welfare of the peo- 
ple. He was ready to listen to suggestions and to argu- 
ments, and if convinced that he was wrong he had the 
manhood and the courage to acknowledge his error and 
correct his position. 

Another chief characteristic, as I have been informed 
by those who knew him best, was fidelity to his friends. 
He was your friend, when he once became your friend, 
in deed and in truth, and you could depend upon him. 
There is nothing in all life to me more beautiful than a 
devoted friendship that is pure and true and tried and 
which you never have any occasion to doubt or question. 
Among the sweetest memories of my life, going back to 
my boyhood days, are the recollections of the bright and 
beautiful friendships which I have enjoyed. It has given 

115653°— 19 2 [17] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Martin 

me great joy to have close friends; friends I love and who 
love me, and of whose friendship I have an appreciation 
which language fails me to fully express or describe. 
Friendships of that kind are the bright and beacon lights 
along the pathway of life that help us and encourage us 
as we travel along through this old world, seeking as best 
we can to do good and to benefit our fellow men. They 
strengthen our faith in the sincerity of our fellows and 
thus give us courage and help us to be true. 

I have understood that that was one of the distinctive 
characteristics of Congressman Martin. When he once 
gave a man his friendship and affection and vouchsafed 
to him his word he stood with the strength of the moun- 
tain itself, unshakable in the realization on his part that 
it was right, and having announced the right he fixed it 
in his affection and friendship and stood without waver- 
ing and never gave any cause of question or doubt. 

Not only have I understood that this was one of the "dis- 
tinctive characteristics of Mr. Martin, but I understand 
that his well-known charity was another strong character- 
istic. Friendship is beautiful indeed, but charity, unselfish 
in its nature, absolutely shines forth in tlie character of 
any man as the most beautiful gem of all. 

In the community where Mr. Martin lived, as was sug- 
gested by the speaker who preceded me, there were a 
great many laboring people. Many of them had difficul- 
ties which were presented to them on frequent occasions, 
when they needed counsel and advice, and oftentimes 
needed the more substantial things of life — needed the 
real help that could come from a friend who was not only 
willing but might be able to assist them. And it is my 
information that there never was a time when people in 
distress or in need in Mr. Martin's community and neigh- 
borhood and city appealed to him in vain in deserving 
cases, but in each and ever\' instance his great heart 

[18] 



Address of Mr. Candler, of Mississippi 

welled up in responsive fervor as he granted to them the 
requests which they made when within reason and within 
the scope of his abilities, never turning a deaf ear to any 
that deserved his real consideration. 

This most beautiful of the characteristics of human life 
is but the exemplification of the life of the only perfect 
man who ever walked the earth, and He said that the 
greatest service that we might render in all the world was 
to respond to those that were in need. The greatest serv- 
ice that might be rendered is to give to those who are in 
need of help, and who are unable to help themselves and 
are unable to return to you the services which you might 
render them or the benefits which you might bestow upon 
them; in other words, unselfish service and favors from a 
pure motive with no hope of return or personal reward. 

In his service in his city Mr. Martin bestowed great 
benefits not only upon the city itself but upon individual 
citizens; and just as people appealed to him in private life 
as a private citizen he as their public ofTicial and repre- 
sentative was always accessible to them, and they did not 
hesitate at any time to apply to him when they felt like 
going to him, because they knew he would give them a 
ready and a willing response. 

During his service in the city council, as I have been in- 
formed, at one time there was a very dangerous crossing 
at a railroad where the street cars crossed it. It became a 
menace. The people had appealed in vain for relief, but 
had not been able to secure it. 

This was in the time of the old horse cars and it was 
nothing unusual for a car to be struck by a railroad train 
once or twice a month, thereby injuring a number of 
people. The people appealed to Charles Martin and his 
great heart responded. He took this up in the city coun- 
cil and insisted that the stockyards people be compelled 
to elevate these tracks at a cost of $250,000 for the pur- 

[19] 



Memorial Addresses: Represent ath'e Martin 

pose of letting the people pass safely. This was done 
after a year of fighting with the stockyard people and 
the railroad companies. He was the father of the track- 
elevation ordinance, which he succeeded in having 
passed in the city council after four years of strenuous 
fighting. He was also father of the " wheel-tax ordi- 
nance," which brought to the city nearly $900,000 and 
which now yields nearly $1,000,000 annually. There was 
a reduction plant situated in his ward which was being 
run by some financiers who were making on an average 
$300,000 yearly. This reduction plant was a detriment 
to the people for many miles around. Mr. Martin, along 
with a number of others in that particular ward and dis- 
trict, got up in arms against this plant and after two and 
one-half years of strenuous fighting succeeded in driving 
them out and demanded that if this plant was to be main- 
tained that it be maintained as a clean and sanitary plant 
and not a detriment to the people. 

When these matters were brought to his attention, even 
though Mr. Martin realized that he was going against 
great political interests and wealth, still the welfare of the 
plain people appealed to him who were unable to help 
themselves, and that was sufTicient to engage his earnest 
attention and his best efforts and he went to work in the 
council and had these matters all corrected and secured 
lasting and permanent benefits for the people. I might 
mention other instances of this kind, but I presume others 
that are more familiar than I with local conditions and 
with the great services which he rendered in the develop- 
ment of that marvelous city will bring them to your 
attention. 

Therefore, in conclusion, let me say I desire to pay this 
tribute because of the fact I believe Congressman Martin 
deserves it by reason of the fact that he stood close at all 
times to the people and was in deed and in truth a true 

[20] 



Address of Mr. Candler, of Mississippi 

representative of those who entrusted him with their 
commission. He was a good citizen in life; he was a true 
friend; he was a faithful public ofTicial; he was a patriot, 
and a devoted husband and father, and therefore, in the 
end of his life these characteristics all combine to make 
a consummation of a life which is an honor to him, which 
is a heritage to his loved ones and to his family, which is 
a gratification to his friends, which is a fond remem- 
brance to the citizens of his great city and of the com- 
munity in which he lived, and which being now made of 
record in the annals of this House will be in days to 
come a fitting memorial of a true American citizen, and 
when it is said of a man that he is a true American citizen 
it is saying of him that he represents the great principles 
for which this marvelous Republic stands, and no greater 
compliment or honor can be paid. May God bless and 
comfort his loved ones and help them to look forward to 
the coming of the perfect day when we shall meet those 
who have gone before and await us in the city beautiful. 

Mr. John W. Rainey took the chair. 



[21] 



Address of Mr. Henry T. Rainey, of Illinois 

Mr. Speaker: During the busy and active years of his 
career on this earth Congressman Charles Martin par- 
ticipated in stirring events. He was born amid delight- 
ful surroundings in rural New York, and a man who is 
born upon a farm starts out in life with marked advan- 
tages of birth. In his boyhood years he was brought by 
his parents to the city of Chicago and he spent there all 
the years of his career on this earth which followed. 
When he reached the city of Chicago that great city had 
a population of less than 250,000 people, but already long 
parallel lines of steel connected it with the great West, 
and as the West grew Chicago grew. Across meridians of 
longitude from the East came millions of people and 
quickly settled up the valleys of our great, lonely, western 
rivers, and the West was bound always by bands of steel 
to the great city of the lakes. 

Five years after his arrival in Chicago the greatest fire 
in the history of the cities of the world swept out of exist- 
ence 17,500 buildings. But the development of Chicago 
continued and in two years a miracle had happened. 
Every vestige of the fire had disappeared. This happened 
as Charles Martin advanced in j^ears from boyhood to 
youth; and through all the years which followed his 
career was inseparably connected with the development 
of the great city of Chicago. He saw it grow from a city 
of less than 250,000 to one of the world's greatest cities, 
embracing within its boundaries at the time of his death 
2,500,000 people. When he was elected to the city council 
the city had developed until it had within its boundaries 
over a million people. He served as a member of this im- 
portant body — one of the world's most important munici- 



[22] 



Address of Mr. Henry T. Rainey, of Illinois 



pal governing organizations — for the long period of 16 
years — an important service. It is an honor to belong to 
this great body, and it is a marked distinction indeed 
to have served for 16 years as a member of the Chicago 
city council — an honor and a distinction which comes 
to few men. When he died there had been added to 
the population of Chicago another million and a half. 
He helped build and develop the great city. In all of our 
cities and on every countryside there are men who lift 
and there are men who merely lean while others do the 
work, but in the great city of Chicago, from the years of 
his full manhood to the year of his death, Charles Martin 
was among those who helped lift, who helped do the great 
things that great city has accomplished. 

After the fire Chicago was quickly rebuilt and in the 
early eighties they rebuilt the city of Chicago again. 
Buildings sprang into existence of a new type, with broad 
foundations, and when Congressman Martin's career com- 
menced as a member of the city council the city of Chicago 
was engaged in a third process of rebuilding. Buildings 
which were erected after the fire rapidly disappeared 
from the down-town section of the city and buildings with 
foundations reaching to bedrock and rising 20 stories in 
the blue azure of the sky had replaced them. 

Miracle after miracle in city building occurred in the 
city of Chicago during the active years of Charles Mar- 
tin's connection with it. While he was a member of the 
city council he promoted those civic improvements which 
made it possible for great avenues to extend for miles 
from the blue waters of the lake out into the prairies of 
Illinois and along those avenues magnificent residences 
were built. He was active in his efforts to raise the rail- 
ways in Chicago above the grade of the streets in order to 
protect the lives of citizens. He was bound closely by ties 
of love and sympathy with thousands and thousands of 

[23] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Martin 

his fellow men. Rough, generous, kindly, brave, he will 
be remembered through the years to come by those who 
have survived him as few men are remembered. 

There is no death here. The flowers which wither and 
die with the expiring year, as the cold blasts of winter 
come, merely sleep through the months of cold and fog 
and snow until the warm breath of May brings them back 
to life again. The rocks, as they decay, simply sustain 
the mosses that grow upon them. The sun, as it sets in 
the western sky, merely rises to sliine in splendor on other 
seas and on other shores. The stars, as they move in bril- 
liant procession across the skies during the night hours 
and disappear beyond the western horizon, simply rise 
again to shine in all their beauty upon other scenes. And 
so, upon occasions like tliis, there is always left to 
the friends of him who has departed the consolation and 
the faith that what we call on this earth death is merely 
the passing through the portal to a world we do not under- 
stand, but to a world which we are sure is more splendid, 
more magnificent than this to a career which is longer 
than this, and there is left the hope that this life has been 
but a mere period of preparation for a newer and a fuller 
and a larger life which lies beyond the grave. 



[24] 



Address of Mr. Gallagher, of Illinois 

Mr. Speaker: In the death of Representative Charles 
Martin Congress lost an experienced and painstaking 
legislator and the Democratic Party one of its most faith- 
ful and loyal supporters. He was a tireless worker and 
it was through his own efforts that he raised himself from 
humble circumstances to a seat in this body. 

I knew Mr. JVIartin for many years. I first met him as a 
member of the city council of the city of Chicago when I 
was a member of that body. He was elected to represent 
the fifth ward, and was at the time in the employ of Swift 
& Co. at the Union Stock Yards as one of the reliable 
assistants of that firm. Having been a wage earner him- 
self, he was at all times anxious to stand for the rights 
of laboring men and to work for their advancement when- 
ever possible. His life was never an easy life; he was 
always doing something for his people. 

As a member of the city council he was a fearless and 
courageous representative, never afraid to express his 
opinion or to say what he thought regarding matters of 
public interest; nor did he hesitate to vote on any question 
in which the general welfare of the city was concerned 
or in a way which he believed would prove of benefit to 
his constituents. If he made up his mind as to what was 
right he would act regardless of what might be said 
about him. He was never a trimmer; you could always 
tell where he stood. No citizen could be prouder of the 
progress, improvement, and growth of our city or the 
prosperity of its people. 

He was first elected a niember of the city council of 
Chicago in 1894 and served continuously for three terms, 
retiring in 1902. He was reelected in 1905 and served one 

[25] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Martin 

term, and was again sent back to the council in 1910. He 
retired in 1914, but came back in 1915 and served con- 
tinuously from that date until he resigned, after his elec- 
tion to the National House of Representatives. 

During all the years of his service in the city council 
of Chicago he was conspicuous for his constant attend- 
ance at the meetings and for the faithful discharge of his 
duties to his constituents. 

During the time I was a member of the board of educa- 
tion I never knew an alderman who worked harder to 
obtain convenient and suitable school accommodations 
for the youth of his ward. He liked children and was 
anxious that they receive a good education; he wanted the 
very best that could be provided, and he generally got 
what he went after; nothing else would satisfy him. 

He was a man of plain and somewhat rugged exterior, 
but he possessed a warm, generous nature, a kindly heart, 
and a ready hand to help his fellow men whenever the call 
came to him. There was no citizen of the ward who did 
not feel free to call upon him at any time — day or night. 
He would gladly render any service he could to those who 
sought his help and willingly perform a kindly and gen- 
erous act for friend or foe. He made many and lasting 
friends throughout the city during his public service, but 
to him there were no friends like the old friends in the 
fifth ward. 

Mr. Martin was the possessor of a native wit that made 
him popular among his colleagues and he enlivened many 
a debate among the city fathers. He made a study of 
municipal affairs and was a conscientious worker for the 
welfare of the city. 

While he was a lifelong and uncompromising Demo- 
crat, he never allowed politics to supersede the interests 
of all the people. He was a patriot in the truest sense of the 
word, and his ambition was to do something for his coun- 

[26] 



Address of Mr. G.^u.lagher, of Illinois 

try's benefit during his life ; he was influenced by no other 
consideration in seeking the honor of election to this hon- 
orable body. Having been reared among the people 
whom he so long and so faithfully served as their repre- 
sentative in the legislative body of the great municipality 
of which he was a typical son, these people respected and 
had confidence in him, and those who knew him well 
loved him best. They took delight in honoring him, as 
his political record amply proves, and when he asked the 
last and greatest honor at their hands, a membership to 
this great legislative assembly, they cheerfully gave it 
to him. 

"When we were called into special session in April, 1917, 
I had the pleasure of riding with him from Chicago to 
Wasliington. It was his first trip to the National Capital 
as a Member of Congress. I noticed then he was not in 
the best of health; he had not been for some time previous. 
In fact, he was a sick man when he ran for the office, but 
he felt that he was able and he seemed confident that he 
would regain his health sufficiently to serve his constit- 
uency during the term for which he was elected. It was 
quite apparent at the time that we could not keep out of 
the great and terrible war in Europe much longer; in fact, 
it was understood then that we were called to Washing- 
ton to receive a message from the President declaring war 
upon Germany. Mr. Martin said he was determined, if 
such was the case, to stand by the President and our Gov- 
ernment at all hazard. He voted for the declaration of 
war, but was not able to remain in Washington long after 
because of his failing health. He hated to leave here while 
his country was at war, but was compelled to return 
home, never to come back again. 

The membersliip of this House had no opportunity to 
learn of his worth as a legislator or a man. Charlie Mar- 
tin was a good citizen, an uncompromising Democrat, a 

[27] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Martin 

loyal American, and he will be missed by the people of 
his district, especially by those of his ward, whom he so 
long and faithfully served as their alderman. His name 
will, for many years, be associated with those whose 
work in the city council contributed to the fame, pros- 
perity, and commercial greatness of Chicago. To his 
widow and family and those nearest and dearest to him 
we extend our heartfelt syriipathy. In the stockyards dis- 
trict, where he was one of the great plain people, and 
always generous and benevolent to those in need of assist- 
ance, many a tear was brought to the eyes of the poor 
when he passed to the great beyond. They delighted to 
honor him as far as was in their power, and they long will 
mourn his loss and always keep his name in pleasant 
memory. 



[28] 



Address of Mr. Gary, of Wisconsin 

Mr. Speaker: In accoidance with a time-honored cus- 
tom we are met to-day to pay the last tribute of respect to 
one of our colleagues who has joined " the innumerable 
caravan that moves toward the I'ealms of death." 

It is most appropriate that the House of Representa- 
tives should perpetuate this custom, for in this era public 
men are subjected to so much criticism and so much that 
is evil is attributed to their every act that it is eminently 
fitting for those who served by their side in public life to 
testify to the good they have done and to place a wreath 
of honorable memory upon the name of one who is no 
longer here to speak for himself. 

Charles Martin was a Member of this House for a very 
short time before the " Grim Reaper Death " called him 
from the activities of this life to that " bourn from whence 
no traveler returns," but in the short time he was with us 
those who had the opportunity to meet and know him 
found a genial and kindly personality, united to a strong 
and forceful character, and had he lived but a few years 
more he would have undoubtedly left an impressive repu- 
tation as a legislator and statesman, for he had a wide 
grasp of all public questions and a clear discernment of 
the duties and obligations of his office such as few men 
show in their first term. 

But it was not to be, and we are reminded again that 
in the midst of life we should be prepared for the sum- 
mons that has been prepared for all of us and that may 
be served at any moment. 

Fortunately, as we stand beside the bier of a loved one 
who has gone before we hear the gentle voice that reaches 
us through the centuries and bids us recall His promise 

[29] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Martin 



in those words of never-failing cheer : " I am the Resur- 
rection and the Life." 

It is this reflection that comforts us when we contem- 
plate the many who have left us to go to that land of 
shadows and find through the valley of the shadow of 
death the way to the realms of everlasting peace. 

It is then, as we recall the losses we have suffered in the 
past, that we may say with the poet : 

Life's shores are shifting 

Every year, 
And we are seaward drifting 

Every year, 
Old places, changing, fret us; 
The living more forget us; 
There are fewer to regret us 

Every year; 
But the truer life grows nigher 

Every year; 
Earth's hold on us grows slighter 
And the heavy burden lighter 
And the dawn immortal brighter, 

Every year. 



[30] 



Address of Mr. Sabath, of Illinois 

Mr. Speaker: Like my colleagues, I am here to-day to 
pay tribute to the memory of our departed colleague, 
Charles Martin, whom I have known intimately and well 
for over 30 years. 

Charles Martin was a plain, blunt, fearless, and cour- 
ageous man. I served with him for many years on the 
county central committee, as well as on the executive 
committee of the Democratic Party of Cook County, 111., 
and I at all times admired and appreciated his earnest de- 
termination to aid and be of service to the party which he 
at all times designated the party of the people. 

As has been so well stated by my colleagues, Messrs. 
Gallagher and Rainey, he was a strong and courageous 
man, never hesitating to do what he believed was right. 
He was a strong speaker and debater, and was known to 
express his views in a manner that could never be mis- 
understood by anyone. He was indeed a born fighter for 
the cause of democracy and those things which he advo- 
cated and believed in. He was a unique man; he had his 
pecuharities, and, being human and the same as we, suf- 
fered with some imperfections. Who does not? 

During his many years of service, due to his fighting 
proclivities, he brought upon himself many political con- 
tests. He had a large personal following and many warm 
friends who at all times stood loyally by him, which made 
it possible for him to combat strong opposition and thus 
show his ability to come back again and again into pub- 
lic life. He did a great deal for Chicago, especially in 
the interest of the people of his district and his ward. 
After many years of service in the common council it was 
his aim to be elected from his district as Representative 

[31] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Martin 

in Congress, in which he was successful in 1916 in a bitter 
primary fight, being elected by a tremendous majority on 
election day. Soon after the election he was stricken by 
illness, from which he never recovered. Notwithstanding 
his serious illness, when the Sixty-fifth Congress con- 
vened, believing that his presence was necessary to bring 
about the reelection of a Democrat as Speaker and the 
organization of the House, he disregarded the advice of 
his physician and family, left a sanitarium, and came to 
the Capital to assume his congressional duties. Here I 
had still better opportunity during the short space of time 
which it was his good fortune to serve to learn to admire 
his determination and his immense loyalty and love for 
liis country, and it is to be regretted that he was not 
spared so that he could have demonstrated to his district 
and his many friends in Chicago that he was not only a 
capable councilman but that he was a capable, faithful, 
and loyal legislator. Realizing and recognizing his physi- 
cal condition, I advised, together with other colleagues, 
that he should not remain much longer without proper 
care and attention, and though he himself realized his se- 
rious condition he insisted on remaining and did remain 
nearly to the last, so that he could vote on some of the 
measures which he believed required his vote, remarking 
in his usual unique way, " There is not much more that I 
can do, so will stay as long as I can." But, notwithstand- 
ing his will power and determination, he was obliged to 
leave Washington shortly after his congressional duties 
began, never again to return. Within a few short days 
he departed whence no traveler returns. 

Then, in accordance with the resolution heretofore 
adopted, the House (at 3 o'clock and 35 minutes p. m.) 
adjourned until Monday, February 3, 1919, at 11 o'clock 
a. m. 



[32] 



Proceedings in the Senate 

Tuesday, December 4, 1917. 
Mr. South, the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa- 
tives, appeared and communicated to the Senate the in- 
telligence of the death of Hon. Charles Martin, late a 
Representative from the State of Illinois, and transmitted 
resolutions of the House thereon. 

Monday, February 3, 1919. 
A message from the House of Representatives, by J. C. 
South, its Chief Clerk, transmitted to the Senate resolu- 
tions on the life, character, and public services of Hon. 
Charles Martin, late a Representative from the State of 
Illinois. 



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